Skiing Near-Vertical Mountains Is Predictably Spellbinding

Jérémie Heitz challenged himself to take on 15 mountain faces in the Alps of 50 degrees of more.

The 27-year-old Swiss skier’s journey through 11 of those near-vertical Alpine mountain faces is in a documentary that pays homage to the forefathers of extreme skiing. The feat is set to be documented in the astonishingly beautiful film, La Liste, as it plots his course from face to face.

The attempt has been 18 months worth of planning, and the result is gravity-defying footage that includes racing down the 4,000-metre peak Obergabelhorn in the Swiss Alps, akin to coming over the top of a cliff edge. The 40-minute film is thus apt for someone whose motto is “never say no to new adventures”.

“I am really impressed about what extreme skiers did back in the day with the old equipment,” Heitz said. “It’s a strong inspiration for me and only something that makes me want to push further.”

One of those inspirations is “the father of extreme skiing” and “skier of the impossible” Sylvain Saudan, who Heitz interviews in the film, 50 years after he skied one of the same mountains.